[unedited text - not official document]
Question of enforced or involuntary disappearances
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/40
The Commission on Human Rights,
Recalling its resolution 20 (XXXVI) of 29 February 1980, in
which it decided to establish a working group consisting of five
of its members, to serve as experts in their individual capacity,
to examine questions relevant to enforced or involuntary
disappearances, its resolution 1997/26 of 11 April 1997 and its
resolution 1995/75 of 8 March 1995 on cooperation with
representatives of United Nations human rights organs,
Recalling also General Assembly resolution 47/133 of 18
December 1992, by which the Assembly adopted the Declaration on
the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as a
body of principles for all States, and Assembly resolutions
49/193 of 23 December 1994 and 51/94 of 12 December 1996,
Deeply concerned, in particular, by the intensification of
enforced or involuntary disappearances in various regions of the
world and by the growing number of reports concerning harassment,
ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses of disappearances or
relatives of persons who have disappeared,
Emphasizing that impunity is simultaneously one of the
underlying causes of enforced disappearances and one of the major
obstacles to the elucidation of cases thereof,
1. Takes note of the report (E/CN.4/1998/43) that the Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has submitted to
the Commission on Human Rights in accordance with Commission
resolution 1997/26 of 1 April 1997;
2. Encourages the Working Group to continue, in execution of
its mandate:
- To promote communication between families of disappeared
persons and the Governments concerned, with a view to
ensuring that sufficiently documented and clearly
identified individual cases are investigated and to
ascertain whether such information falls under its
mandate and contains the required elements;
- To observe in its humanitarian task United Nations
standards and practices regarding the handling of
communications and the consideration of government
replies;
- To consider the question of impunity in the light of the
relevant provisions of the Declaration on the Protection
of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and of the
final reports submitted by the rapporteur appointed by
the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities;
- To pay particular attention to cases of children
subjected to enforced disappearance and children of
disappeared persons, and cooperate closely with the
Governments concerned in searching for and identifying
these children;
- To pay particular attention to cases transmitted to it
that refer to ill-treatment, serious threatening or
intimidation of witnesses of enforced or involuntary
disappearances or relatives of disappeared persons;
- To pay particular attention to cases of the disappearance
of persons working for the promotion and protection of
human rights and fundamental freedoms, wherever they
occur, and to make appropriate recommendations for
preventing such disappearances and improving the
protection of such persons;
- To continue applying a gender perspective in its
reporting process, including in information collection
and formulation of recommendations;
- To provide appropriate assistance with the implementation
by States of the Declaration on the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance and of the existing
international rules;
- To continue its deliberations on its working methods and
to include these aspects in its report to the fifty-fifth
session of the Commission on Human Rights;
3. Deplores the fact that some Governments have never provided
substantive replies concerning the cases of enforced
disappearances in their countries or acted on the recommendations
concerning them made in the reports of the Working Group;
4. Urges the Governments concerned:
- To cooperate with the Working Group and help it to carry
out its mandate effectively, in particular by inviting it
freely to visit their countries;
- To intensify their cooperation with the Working Group on
any action taken pursuant to recommendations addressed to
them by the Working Group;
- To take steps to protect witnesses of enforced or
involuntary disappearances and the lawyers and families
of disappeared persons against any intimidation or
ill-treatment to which they might be subjected;
- That have long had many unresolved cases of
disappearances, to continue their efforts to shed light
on the fate of the individuals concerned and to set in
train with the families of those individuals appropriate
settlement machinery;
- To make provision in their legal systems for machinery
for the seeking by victims of enforced or involuntary
disappearances or their families of fair and adequate
reparation;
5. Reminds Governments:
- That all acts of enforced or involuntary disappearance
are crimes punishable by appropriate penalties which
should take due account of their extreme seriousness
under penal law;
- Of the need to ensure that their competent authorities
proceed immediately to conduct impartial inquiries in all
circumstances where there is reason to believe that an
enforced disappearance has occurred in territory under
their jurisdiction;
6. Expresses:
- Its thanks to the many Governments that have cooperated
with the Working Group and replied to its requests for
information, and to the Governments that have invited the
Working Group to visit their countries, asks them to give
all necessary attention to the Working Group's
recommendations, and invites them to inform the Working
Group of any action they take on those recommendations;
- Its commendation of the efforts by Governments which
investigate, or develop appropriate mechanisms to
investigate, any cases of enforced disappearances which
are brought to their attention, and encourages all the
Governments concerned to expand their efforts in this
area;
7. Invites:
- States to take legislative, administrative, legal and
other steps, including when a state of emergency has been
declared, to take action at the national and regional
levels and in cooperation with the United Nations, if
appropriate through technical assistance, and to provide
the Working Group with concrete information on the
measures taken and the obstacles encountered in
preventing enforced, involuntary or arbitrary
disappearances and in giving effect to the principles set
forth in the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons
from Enforced Disappearance;
8. Takes note of non-governmental organizations' assistance to
the Working Group and activities in support of the implementation
of the Declaration, and invites those organizations to continue
their cooperation;
9. Requests the Working Group to report on its activities to
the Commission at its fifty-fifth session;
10. Requests the Secretary-General:
- To ensure that the Working Group receives all the
assistance and resources, especially a database on cases
of enforced disappearance, that it requires to perform
its function, carry out and follow up missions, hold
sessions in countries that would be prepared to receive
it and update the database;
- To keep the Working Group and the Commission on Human
Rights regularly informed of the steps he takes for the
wide dissemination and promotion of the Declaration on
the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance;
11. Decides to renew for a period of three years the mandate
of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
comprising five independent experts;
12. Decides to consider this matter at its fifty-fifth session
under the same agenda item.
51st meeting
17 April 1998
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. VIII.]
(c) Copyright 1998
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland
Posted on 1999-01-01
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